FR Bygones Weekend 9 - 11 october 2020:
a little bit of normality
In a normal year I usually manage one or two visits to north Wales to coincide with one or other of the many special events on the Ffestinog & Welsh Highland Railways. 2020, of course, has been anything but a normal year, with the F&WHR, like every other heritage railway in the UK, closed for a good chunk of its regular operating season and facing some very real issues. The truncated service on the Ffestiniog, running only as far as Tan y Bwlch using smaller locomotives and heritage stock, which has been in operation since July has provided some income for the company and some enjoyable days out for those who managed to visit the area.
Sadly, this year's big event, the Fairlie Eventful weekend, in late June had to be postponed and we will have to wait in hope that the celebrations to mark the 150th anniversary of the famous Fairlie locomotive trials will go ahead in 2021. The other big event each year is th Victorian weekend in October. This too was cancelled but wit charcteristic Ffestiniog determination the Ffestiniog refused to be beaten and rolled out Bygones weekend as a substitute. Still subject to restrictions, nevertheless the weekend provided a chance to enjoy a little bit of normality and enjoy some of the many wonders that the railway has to offer.
Foremost among the weeknds happenings was the naming and dedication of the recently restored large England tank Welsh Pony, which has been a mainstay of the summer service this year. The ceremony took place, for invited guests only, at Dduallt on the Saturday morning, the train then continuing to Blaenau Ffestiniog.
Welsh Pony ran another service to Blaenau for FR Society members in the afternoon before switching to a similar service to Beddgelert on the Sunday, swapping over with Prince. These were the only services running further than Tan y Bwlch and pretty much the only trains running the entire length of th FR since March.
Other passenger services were operated by the Penrhyn Hunslets Linda and Blanche.
While only a shadow of the usual Victorian weekend, the Bygones event was an enjoyable distraction from the grim reality of 2020. Let's hope it's not long before we can enjoy the sight and sound of a double Fairlie storming up the line with a heavily laden ten coach train full of happy holidaymakers.
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Glad you made it, and enjoyed it Pat. We weren't allowed to leave Denbighshire, with local lock down, so I couldn't come over this time!
ReplyDeleteDespite the restrictions it was a good wekend James. Compared to the usual event it was pretty tame but coming in the year we're having it was just nice to be able to go at all. Sorry that you were locked down. Just read the news about the 'firebreak' lockdown for the whole of Wales, that's unfortuante timing for the FR who were hoping for some half-term business. Stay safe and we'll all meet up at a show somewhere when it's all over.
ReplyDeleteI'm hoping to start posting on a weekly basis from now on so 'stay tuned'. I'm still finding out how this site works so bare with me if I don't have all the features operational yet.